Vance Defends Hegseth as Massie Pursues Impeachment

Vance said Hegseth had not committed impeachable crimes and criticized Congress for turning impeachment into a substitute for policymaking. Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth this week, as the secretary faced calls for removal.

Vance argued that lawmakers could use other congressional tools to express disagreements over policy. He said impeachment efforts against Hegseth were like those previously directed at President Donald Trump, and characterized impeachment as easy but ultimately inconsequential.

Vance said the dispute was not about Iran, but about Hegseth challenging Pentagon bureaucracy. He pointed to Hegseth’s decisions to move forces away from Europe and Ukraine and to reorganize the general officer corps as issues on which he believed Hegseth was right.

Hegseth has supported military action against Iran and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. He described the impeachment effort as a political spectacle.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, said he supported the Hegseth resolution. He accused Hegseth of abusing power and undermining national security, and said the war with Iran had raised prices and made the country less safe. Democratic lawmakers have also backed impeachment efforts against other Trump administration officials, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kash Patel.

Jeffries Backs Hegseth Impeachment as Vance Dismisses Scrutiny

Hegseth’s impeachment fight centers on serious concerns that Vice President JD Vance is trying to wave away. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries supports the resolution, saying Hegseth abused his power, harmed national security and engineered a costly war of choice in Iran that has raised prices and left the country less safe.

Vance instead called the impeachment question absurd and portrayed Congress as choosing spectacle over policymaking. He argued that the effort was not about Iran, but about Hegseth’s confrontation with Pentagon bureaucracy. Vance also defended Hegseth’s repositioning of forces away from Europe and Ukraine and his reorganization of the general officer corps.

Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth this week. Hegseth has backed the Iran campaign and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, and called the impeachment effort a political spectacle.

Vance said lawmakers had other tools for expressing policy disagreements and compared the effort with past impeachment attempts against President Donald Trump. But Jeffries has made clear he backs the Hegseth resolution, while some Democrats have also supported impeachment efforts against other Trump administration officials, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kash Patel.

Vance Says Hegseth Impeachment Distracts From Policymaking

Vice President JD Vance says Congress is reaching for impeachment instead of doing the harder work of policymaking. As Rep. Thomas Massie pursues articles of impeachment against War Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vance defended Hegseth and called the effort a substitute for legislative action.

Vance said the dispute was not about Iran, but about Hegseth taking on the Pentagon bureaucracy. He backed Hegseth’s repositioning of forces away from Europe and Ukraine and his reorganization of the general officer corps, saying those were the issues on which lawmakers were most angry despite Hegseth being right.

Hegseth has backed military operations against Iran and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, and has described the impeachment effort as a political spectacle. Vance said Congress has tools to register disagreements, but lawmakers were choosing impeachment instead; he also compared the effort with past attempts to impeach President Donald Trump.

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has endorsed the Hegseth resolution, accusing the secretary of abusing power and saying the Iran war raised prices and made the country less safe. Democrats have also backed impeachment efforts against other Trump administration officials, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kash Patel.